Everyone Deserves Some Happiness
by Saturn's Requiem
Summary: A lone figure appears at the gates of Suna. Does Gaara, the Kazekage, throw her out? Or does he decide to help her figure out what happened to her family? And will the stranger become Gaara's friend...or something more? Read to find out...


After hours of arguing in my head, I've finally produced the first chapter of my story. Reviews are welcomed! If any questions are asked, I will answer. This chapter is my way of "testing the waters," so-to-speak. I would be extremely grateful if you give me your input as to whether or not I should continue my story.

~Thanks so much! -VR

Disclaimer: I do not, nor will I ever, own the characters or the ideas of Naruto. The only thing I own is the idea of Sanyu Nakamura, for she is of my own creation, and the plot of the story.

Notes: I pictured this story occurring roughly 2 years after the extraction of Shukaku and Gaara's death/resurrection. My OC's name means Happiness in a Village, hence my title. :)

* * *

A lone figure landed silently in front of the gates that guarded the Village Hidden in the Sand—Suna. Even in the dark of night, the figure did not go unnoticed. The three stationed ninjas leapt into action and broke away from their vantage points to confront the solitary figure. As the sand-ninjas appeared in front of the shrouded individual, the figure collapsed, falling to the sandy ground. The trio stared, momentarily shocked. They had expected a fight or some type of disturbance—not someone close to death.

One of the ninja crouched down and searched the unconscious person. "There's no identification. Though he favors senbon needles and carries a few pouches of water. We need to secure his wrists and legs; then we can take him to the Kazekage-sama." He reported.

A second ninja pulled rope out of a pouch and tied the intruder's wrists together, then continued to restrain the feet. The last ninja stepped forward and hoisted the stranger over his shoulder. The trio sped off at top speed, hoping to catch the Kazakage in a decent mood.

The ninjas reached the Kazekage's office within minutes, but, to their, dismay yelling and shouting could be heard through the thick, wooden door. One of the sand-trio sucked in a gulp of air and knocked on the door. Something sounding suspiciously like papers hit the opposite side of the door seconds before the door was yanked open by a fuming Temari. "Is it so damn important that you must interrupt a meeting?" Temari fumed. Standing behind Temari was a flushed Kankuro and a collected Gaara sat behind his desk. The meeting was most likely Temari and Kankuro arguing over something irrelevant to the actual case, while Gaara silently watched them with a slightly bemused expression. This was nothing new. The two elder Sabaku siblings never could agree on something; if Temari suggested that Suna host the next Chunin Exams, then Kankuro vehemently opposed because he didn't want to deal with cocky little Genins running amok through the village, like a certain hyperactive ninja from his own Chunin exam-Naruto.

Gaara allowed the bickering because his older siblings were his advisers and because he found it amusing. Being the Kazakage, he didn't have much to smile at. Gaara stood up and moved from his desk to the door. "What do need?" Gaara asked more calmly than Temari. Even though he loved his brother and sister, he was grateful for the interruption.

"An intruder passed out in front of the gates." The ninja holding said intruder stepped to the front. Gaara motioned to a chair in the corner of his office, "You can set him there and then return to your posts." The trio nodded and quickly left, shutting the door behind them.

"This is strange. We don't get visitors that haven't made arrangements first. We're too isolated and hot for people." Kankuro wondered out loud.

"Thanks for stating the obvious, Kankuro. Like we don't already know that. Hm, they didn't say if they found identification." Temari said, closing the distance between herself and the comatose stranger. Temari carefully removed the hood and gasped. The face revealed was swollen and severely bruised; brownish blond hair was matted with drying blood and what appeared to be dirt. It was the face of a girl—not a man like the guards had assumed. "**She **needs medical treatment now! Questioning can wait." Gaara nodded and opened the door while Kankuro picked up the unconscious girl. They made the trek to the hospital quickly, not knowing how much time the girl had left.

* * *

The sand siblings waited quietly—albeit impatiently—as their charge was treated. After what seemed like an eternity, a nurse approached the fidgeting group. "The girl is fine, though badly abused. There were lacerations all over her body and she has heavy bruising around her throat. So don't expect her talk too much when you see her."

"Is she awake?" Gaara asked the important question. The nurse nodded and made a "follow-me" motion with her hand. The sand trio walked silently to the stranger's room, each lost in their own thoughts. The sand siblings went in while the nurse said she had other patients to attend to.

Frightened brown eyes stared at the people walking into the room. She didn't know where she was, or the people that now surrounded her bed. The scared girl pulled her knees to her chest to make herself a smaller target as she studied the strangers. The woman had blond hair that was styled into four ponytails and had dark, sympathetic grey-green eyes. The taller man had violet kabuki paint covering his face and a hood with ears covering his hair. The shortest of the three was also male and had blood red hair that was as unruly as his eyes were blank. The redhead's eyes were green, cold and flat like sea glass.

"What is your name?" The redhead's voice was as emotionless as his eyes.

"S-Sanyu Nakamura." The scared girl said in a scratchy voice. "Wh-who are you? Wh-where am I?"

The woman spoke up, "I'm Temari and these are my brothers. The one with the paint is Kankuro. Gaara is the redhead and the Kazakage of the village. You're in Suna."

_How did I get here? I remember fighting in my garden…and then running away,_Sanyu thought to herself. She glanced around the room and then back at the trio of siblings. "Am I in trouble?" She asked quietly.

"That depends, are you going to bring harm to my village or the inhabitants?" Gaara countered. Sanyu shook her head 'No' forcefully, "I would never harm someone without cause."

"Acceptable. Where are you from?" Gaara questioned again.

"Kirigakure, in the Land of Water." Came the raspy reply.

"Do you have proof?" Kankuro asked. Sanyu lifted her left hand and exposed the inside of her wrist. Tattooed on the pale wrist were the four waves that made up the Village Hidden in the Mist's symbol. Kankuro, being lack-witted, asked: "Why is it tattooed? No other village does that."

Sanyu didn't answer immediately, but took her time to organize the chaos that was her mind. "One reason is that a tattoo is generally harder to find and cannot be easily lost like a forehead protector. Secondly, only my clan was tattooed. Not all of the Mist ninja..." Sanyu broke off in a coughing fit. Temari glanced around the room, spotted a pitcher of water and poured Sanyu a glass.

"Thank you, Temari-san." Sanyu said after drinking half of the glass. Temari nodded.

"Why only your clan?" Gaara's questioning was relentless.

"M-my clan specializes in certain abilities. Water abilities, very dangerous abilities." Sanyu said timidly.

"You're from the Land of Water; of course you have an affinity for water. All ninjas from that region do. What makes your clan so 'special'?" Gaara countered, sneering part of the sentence.

"You mean 'made' them so special," Sanyu murmured. This caught the standing trio by surprise. Sanyu referred to her clan in past tense, not the present tense.

"What do you mean by that?" Temari asked quietly.

Thankful she dodged the Kazekage's digging question, Sanyu answered Temari's inquiry. "I am the last of the Nakamura clan. Th-they were slaughtered…in front of me. I c-c-couldn't help them. I tried! I swear I tried! I was tending my garden, lost in my own world. I remember inhaling a sweet, pungent scent and then…everything went numb, but I could still see. There must have been five or six ninjas doing the killing, because one was holding me as I watched the blood pool in my home."

Sanyu tried to stem her tears, but they fell anyway. Kankuro, being the awkwardly person he is, didn't know what to do when a girl cried. He fidgeted; he grabbed a tissue and practically threw it at Sanyu. Sanyu gave a tiny "thank you" and dried her eyes, or tried to at least. Sanyu continued her story: "The numbness wore off and I fought. I may have killed someone, but I don't remember if I did or not. I remember fighting in my garden…there was blood coating my jasmine, I think it was my blood. I remember running because I couldn't fight all of them. I was already weak from whatever poison they used and I didn't trust myself to..." Sanyu's voice faded out.

"And you ran. You ended up here in Suna." Temari finished. Sanyu nodded. She yawned and rubbed her eyes innocently. "I think there's been enough questioning, right Gaara?" Temari said, witnessing Sanyu's tiredness. Gaara nodded and led the siblings out of the room. They turned out the lights and closed the door.

_Would they abandon me if they knew what I am capable of? Would they cringe in disgust? Or kill me?_These were the thoughts that plagued Sanyu as she drifted into a fretful sleep…


End file.
